I received a message from a running friend, Alan Stewart, last week to inform me that he had just “caught your little article in May’s Men’s Running mag”. I had no idea what he was on about initially but, admittedly, had fallen behind on my reading and still had both the May and June issues of Men’s Running to read. Flicking through the May edition of the magazine, I soon found the article in question (page 52, in the Trail section).

I have the 55 mile Cateran Trail Ultra this weekend and, reading over the article again, I felt that it was appropriate in describing how I feel as I approach the race.

“I have no great aversion to road running, but I would always choose a trail run over a road run regardless of the time of day, the season and/or the weather conditions.

The trail offers me greater freedom and lets me reconnect with nature. It offers me a greater variety of terrain which is both more challenging, more rewarding and yet kinder to my body. It offers me a chance to reach places that are not often visited other than by those who are willing to put in a similar effort.

It offers me the chance to explore and to see the best that our country has to offer. It tests me and pits me against the elements, in a way that the road could not. It offers me an escape from the mundane, the 9 to 5. It offers me freedom!

Since discovering the trail I have gone on to take it to extremes in the form of ultramarathon running.

In 2012 I am aiming to complete seven off-road ultramarathons, from the 33-mile D33 run to the 95-mile West Highland Way Race, with runs of 37, 40, 43, 53 and 55 miles in between.

In completing these races I will log many, many hours on the trail, some of which will leave me wondering why I even bother to put myself through this, but ultimately, they will all be rewarding.

That’s why the trail wins.”

The Cateran Trail Ultramarathon

The Cateran includes 7450 ft of climbs, including a final 5 miles approx. of climbing up and over Glenshee before a 1.5 mile descent to possibly the best race finish ever. Starting just along the road from the Race H.Q. at the Spittal of Glenshee hotel, runners follow a highly scenic trail that takes in muddy fields, forest trail, road and moorland.

There are 6 checkpoints in the race, meaning that you do not need to carry too much with you. These are as follows:

• Dalnagair castle (6ish miles)
• Kirkton of Glenisa (15ish miles)
• Den of Alyth (26ish miles)
• Blairgowrie (31ish miles)
• Bridge of Cally (38ish miles)
• Enochdhu (49ish miles)

Last year marshals gave the order for compulsory waterproofs as the weather closed in and boy did it rain! By the time I reached the final 5 mile climb, the path resembled a stream, making for a long slog up and over Glenshee before an ascent that involved much slip sliding as I fought to stay upright.

Everyone at the rain soaked finish line was keen to usher us into the hotel and, at this point, it was obvious why. Each and every finisher is greeted with cheers and applause and, ironically, the later you finish, the more runners, support crew and families are there to greet you!
 
I have yet to experience a race finish to match this one!
 
The Cateran is a small race, with 75 runners. The evening after the race is more like a family get together than anything else as many of the runners, their support crews and families choose to stay over at the hotel after the race. The Spittal of Glenshee hotel kindly runs a special offer for those involved in the race, a discounted room rate plus the option to stay for free on the Saturday evening if you have stayed the previous night. This cracking offer encourages people to stick around for the prize giving where each finisher is called up to collect their memento.

I would definitely recommend the Cateran!

Come Saturday evening, I hope to have finished the race, ideally with a new PB and, at this point, the final countdown will begin to this years big race, the 95 mile West Highland Way Race. There will be only 35 days to go… gulp!

• Cateran Trail Ultramarathon
• Spittal of Glenshee Hotel

Quote for the Day

“There is no time to think about how much I hurt; there is only time to run.”
Ben Logsdon

This was, I thought, a rather apt quote of the day from www.runnersworld.com

The Ron Hill Trail Half Zip top arrived Saturday and was soon put through its paces. The main thing about this top was the half zip so that I could cool down sufficiently if required mid race. Although it was far from hot this weekend, I am pretty sure that it is going to do the trick! If previous years are anything to go by, the West Highland Way Race apparel will be provided by Ron Hill so it is good to know that this will be a functional race t-shirt.

Speaking of which – the West Highland Way Race instructions went live on the website this weekend and will soon be mailed to all competitors. Going by the comments on Facebook, this has fairly brought home the close proximity of the race to many competitors!

Unfortunately, of the 238 starters who passed the race requirements, some 30 have already pulled out through injury. I wish them all a speedy recovery.

So, with a 6 mile hill run on Saturday and a 9 mile hill run on Sunday, that’s me started my taper for this weekends Cateran Trail Ultramarathon which I am really looking forward to. With approx 5 miles of ascent up Glenshee followed by a 1.5 mile descent down the other side to the finish at The Spittal of Glenshee hotel, this is possibly THE best race finish ever. I remember arriving at the finish last year to be ushered inside the hotel. At this point, each finisher is met by cheers and applause from all of the runners who have already finished and their support crews and families. The further back the field you are, the better the finish!

Hoping for better weather than last years torrential rain but will take what I get regardless (as if I have a choice lol!)

Best of luck to everyone running it.

My contribution:

“I have no great aversion to road running, but I would always choose a trail run over a road run regardless of the time of day, the season and/or the weather conditions.

The trail offers me greater freedom and lets me reconnect with nature. It offers me a greater variety of terrain which is both more challenging, more rewarding and yet kinder to my body. It offers me a chance to reach places that are not often visited other than by those who are willing to put in a similar effort.

It offers me the chance to explore and to see the best that our country has to offer. It tests me and pits me against the elements, in a way that the road could not. It offers me an escape from the mundane, the 9 to 5. It offers me freedom!

Since discovering the trail I have gone on to take it to extremes in the form of ultramarathon running.

In 2012 I am aiming to complete seven off-road ultramarathons, from the 33-mile D33 run to the 95-mile West Highland Way Race, with runs of 37, 40, 43, 53 and 55 miles in between.

In completing these races I will log many, many hours on the trail, some of which will leave me wondering why I even bother to put myself through this, but ultimately, they will all be rewarding.

That’s why the trail wins.”

Thanks Men’s Running.

I just had to try them out and ‘compromised’ with a 3 mile speed session on the treadmill.

I found myself in a bit of a quandry at first – should I wear them or keep them as a memento of this, Great Britain’s Olympic year??? As much as I wanted to keep them all new and spic and span, I opted for the former.

Slipping them on for the first time, I found them to be well sized, especially in the toe box area, something that I personally like as someone with a wide foot.

The lacing and shoe tongue system is quite ingenious and very different to anything I have found on a trainer before. The result is an instantly comfortably fitting shoe.

Anyone who reads my posts knows that I tend to run in Hokas for my ultra distances and then in minimalist shoes for the rest of my running.

The Brooks Green Silence fitted in somewhere in the middle of that lot!

I was surprised just how bouncy, springy and responsive the soles felt and it made for a good run on otherwise tired legs. I will definitely be making good use of these for road sessions and fully expect to turn some heads with the patriotic colouring

Thanks to @skeletonamy, @sweatshoponline & @BrooksrunningUK for my Brooks Green Silence – much appreciated.

That’s the second pair of Brooks to have impressed me. I won a pair of Brooks Pure Grit back before Christmas in the Mens Running Brooks Pure Project Photography Competition and I have to say that I am loving running in these as well. With the comfort levels of these shoes, I seriously need to see what Brooks offers for the mid to long distance trail running that I do.

I am going to concentrate on shorter distances from now until the Cateran, with the dual aim of giving the legs a bit of a break and also keeping the running ticking over until the 19th. I am just off to hit the trail for a run in the Merrell Trail Gloves that I was sent to review. With the timing of their arrival, just before the Fling, I have not yet managed to take them out as much as I would have liked. Anticipating a run of between 6 and 10 miles but will just see how the legs feel.

Going to stick on the latest of the West Highland Way Podcasts, which have proved to be an invaluable source of information as the West Highland Way Race approaches.

Happy running!

I am back at my desk, happy not to be moving too much as I have a pretty bad case of the DOMS (Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness). The good news is that I did it, I managed to complete the 53 miles of the Hoka Highland Fling. I even bagged a new PB by some 27 minutes but, in all honesty, I have no idea where that one came from as a single word adequately sums up my race – torture! (albeit scenic torture!).

The forecast for rain soon gave way to a forecast for an overcast and cool day. In the end, we had neither! Other than a strange, all too brief, flurry of hail at the 40 mile stage, the day was sunny and warm. A little too warm for myself and many of the others that I spoke to. However, given what I have heard of the Fellsman race and the Manchester Marathon being run in torrential rain, and with some cases of hypothermia being reported at the Fellsman, I will not grumble about the mercury being a few degrees hotter than I would have liked!

The race starts in Milngavie, on the outskirts of Glasgow, and follows the West Highland Way route all the way to Tyndrum. Along the way you run up and over Conic Hill (approx 16 miles in) with its beautiful views over Loch Lomond, along the side of Loch Lomond towards Rowardennan (approx 27 miles in), then to Inversnaid (approx 34 miles in) and then to the final check point of Bein Glas Farm (approx 40 miles).

The start is staggered which is a godsend given the increasing numbers of runners taking part and the narrowness of the trail in many sections. The starts are as follows:

• 06:00 Females and Male Super-Vets (Max time 15 hours)
• 07:00 Male Vets (Max time 14 hours)
• 08:00 Males (Max time 13 hours)
• 09:00 Relay teams (Max time 12 hours)

Possibly the only benefit of hitting the big 4-0 this year was my move into the Male Vets category, giving me a 7:00 start (The Male Vet age will apparently drop from 40 to 35 from next year).

I almost came a cropper twice on Conic Hill which is a tough ascent and descent at the best of times. With all the rain of late, patches of the descent in particular were even more trecherous than usual and it was all I could do to turn an out of control skid back into a ‘controlled’ descent rather than ending up flat on my back… twice! It turns out that the leather at the bottom of my running gaiters just took away too much of my tread for the wet and muddy conditions. However, the sheer pounding soon snapped both of the leather strips and this was no longer a problem!

Given that I had been ill immediately prior to the event, I didn’t overplan it with expected checkpoint times. I didn’t want to create a rod for my own back in the event that things were not going well.

As it was, I reached Drymen, the first checkpoint, some 12 minutes up on last year, Rowardennan, 17 minutes up, and Beinglas Farm, where a 5.30pm cutoff is enforced for safety reasons, some 31 minutes up on last year and over an hour in advance of the cut off.

Anyone considering running the West Highland Way, whether it be at the Highland Fling, the Devil O’ The Highlands, or the full West Highland Way Race, would definitely be advised to check out the terrain beforehand if at all possible. I had forgotten just how undulating the route was and I had also forgotten just how challenging the terrain underfoot could be, especially the 3 mile section between Inversnaid and Bein Glas Farm. As more than one person commented, they didn’t expect quite so much climbing and scrambling about. However, the rooty, rocky nature of this part in particular and, indeed, the various sections of the West Highland Way route, add interest to the trail and breaks it up into individual little sections.

I was approximately 17 miles into the race when I was passed by the first of the male sub 40 field which I was delighted with. I had started in the male vet category an hour earlier and had expected to be caught by the leading males long before now.

Relay runners soon added to the flow of runners, each passing looking fresh and fast and most offering words of encouragement to the solo runners on the trail.

Looking back on my time, it was a decent enough improvement on last year and even pipped my earlier PB margin from the D33. However, it doesn’t sit well with my recollections of the day. Other than the beautiful scenery and the camaderie amongst the runners, my memories are mainly of pain and struggle. There was even a couple of low points where I pondered the prospect of a DNF.

I had to laugh this morning as I listened to a West Highland Way Race podcast on the way in to work. Someone commented “Pain is a luxury for the living” and, if that is indeed the case, I was living it up big style on Saturday!

Supplies

I was Fuelled by water mixed with High 5 Zero along the route and with drop bags at 4 checkpoints which included the following:

• Muller rice: A departure from my pasta based dishes from the year before. Every one went down a treat and tasted delicious regardless of how hot they were. I had found the lukewarm pasta, heated by the sun in 2011 to be particularly stomach churning and it was refreshing not to have this problem again.
• Coca Cola: Many people go for the flat Coke option but I like a bit of fizz! The thought of a drink of Coke kept me going from one checkpoint to another!
• Slim-Fast Cafe Latte flavour shake: This was also ‘new for 2012′. A fellow runner, Sue Walker, introduced me to the Cafe Latte shake at the end of last years Devil O’ the Highlands race and it went down a treat. This year I had one along with a porridge and banana for breakfast and then one at each of the checkpoints. As with the Muller rice, they tasted fine, even when slightly lukewarm.
• Tablet: The traditional Scottish sweet kind provided the perfect sugar rush when things were looking bleak. “Tablet’s hard to describe if you haven’t had a Scottish upbringing; it’s like toffee, but not chewy, it’s like fudge, but more grainy. It’s basically a wee bit of heaven in an otherwise dreich country.” http://scruss.com/tablet.html
• Sun tan lotion: It wasn’t as sunny as it has been the past two years but I was glad of the small packets of sun tan lotion that I had included in my drop bags.

The last few miles into Tyndrum felt like the longest miles I have ever run but I soon heard the sound of the pipes and it was a great feeling to be piped in to the finish line where I was met by Mrs Mac & her brother.

I was hit with a case of the shivers shortly after finishing. I am still not entirely sure as to what caused this but I was not alone in this. Regardless of the shivers, for once I actually felt like eating and after a quick shower (We stayed at the By The Way hostel at Tyndrum which was right at the finish line, perfect positioning!) we headed to the Real Food Cafe where I devoured a double cheeseburger and chips, something that I had been longing for over the last 30 odd miles. Strange thing is, it’s not something that I eat all that often but it certainly hit the spot. Hit by another case of the shivers, I decided to retire for the night and managed a solid 6 hours sleep before waking with a huge hunger pang.

Despite my need to eat I didn’t wake Mrs Mac or her brother for another two hours but, after waking, we were all showered, packed and ready to hit the famous Green Welly Stop in Tyndrum for a full cooked breakfast within the best part of 30 mins!

Summary

So, that’s the score at 2-1 in my favour when it comes to finishes Vs. DNFs and I have every intention of making it 3-1 next year. The pain and suffering were forgotten almost instantly. Actually, perhaps not the pain (he says, trying to move his legs!) but that will soon pass! It was great to meet up with people, to see some people getting PBs and others complete for the first time.

362 solo runners completed the event with approx 50 DNFs and a similar number who did not start. Times ranged from the winning time of 07:23:11 through to 15:14:49. The final finisher was the legendary Ray McCurdy who, in finishing, completed his 100th ultramarathon!

Hoka Athletes

Hoka One One is the new race sponsor for 2012 and they sent over some of their Pro team to compete in the Fling. The Hoka athletes performed well, especially when you consider that the terrain would have been largely unfamiliar to them. Ludo Pommeret came a close second in the mens race, while Emma Roca came 8th overall and first lady. Going by the number of pairs of Hokas that I saw on Saturday, the brand is really starting to make an impact in the UK.

Gallery

This year I made a point of taking some photographs along the route. Here are some of my favourites. Hopefully they convey the beauty of the surroundings.

I’m not talking about fighting between Running Bug members. I’m talking about the flu bug, the sickness bug or any other kind of illness.

It’s bad enough when it strikes at all but, surely, the most inopportune sickness is that which strikes in the lead up to a race or, even worse, on race day itself.

All that preparation, planning & training. What can you do? Do you race regardless?

When it comes to training they say that it’s ok to run with anything that sits above the neck but advise you not to run when illness strikes below the neck.

Do you feel up to running however, and what, if any precautions do you take?

From personal experience I can state that running while sick in both cases has made me feel better, perhaps as a result of some endorphin release!

I do, however, have the benefit of an in house treadmill which I appreciate isn’t the case for everyone. When running while ill I tend to aim for a low mileage, drop the speed and generally just plod along. Depending on how good, or otherwise, I feel, I judge the run, whether or not to continue etc.

It’s definitely not for everyone but you never know, it might just make you feel that little bit better. At this point I should probably just state that you should seek proper medical advice before running. I don’t want to be responsible for anyone’s continued illness!

I hope illness didn’t strike before anyone’s VLM. With just under 40,000 of you running yesterday, there had to be some unfortunate souls who suffered (not that 26.2 miles whilst in full health doesn’t involve a fair degree of suffering!). Congratulations to everyone who did run. I enjoyed watching the race from my sickbed.

Yup, you heard correctly. Less than 7 days to go until the 53 mile Hoka Highland Fling and I found myself ill for most of the past week.

You know, when everyone around you is dropping like flies, that there’s a fairly good chance it’s going to strike you. The only question is when.

I don’t have the most resilient of immune systems (perhaps down to the training regime?) so, for me, it really was only a question of time. ‘fortunately’ I appear to have timed it so that I have a few days to recover and to try and regain my form.

Right, that’s me got my excuses in nice and early ;o)

Next post will be a summary of how things went on the Hoka Highland Fling. If you are also running it, have a great one and I might even see you there. If not, I can definitely recommend it. With just under 500 solo runners this year (there’s also a relay team option), this is definitely one of (if not THE) UKs most popular ultras.

• http://www.highlandflingrace.org/

Happy Running!